Hijack - Nickable material
by Sylvie Orp
Summary: Cowley puts his cards on the table, but Harry Walters still walks away. Bodie is not happy.


"I thought we were nicking 'im!" complained a confused Bodie.

"We will, Bodie. We will."

"When?"

"One day."

His top agent wasn't convinced. He had been looking forward to this day. They'd spent weeks on the case and now Bodie could sense Walter's collar in his fingers; he could feel the heat of his neck. He'd relished the drive to Walter's favourite watering hole - an exclusive dining club - where the deed was about to be done. But when, an hour later, Cowley came out after his meeting, Bodie was on high alert as the Cow had come out alone. Had the wily Harry given them the slip? No, it turned out that Harry had somehow convinced the Old Man that he wasn't nickable material. How the hell had that happened?

Bodie pouted all the way back to base. He glanced in the rear view mirror now and then and saw a soft smile on Cowley's face. He was clearly up to something and, as usual, he was keeping his agents in the dark. Bodie hated those moments. They'd arrived at base now and Cowley fairly lept out of the car.

"Get Doyle and Murphy. My office, ten minutes."

Bodie resisted a sarcastic salute and wandered off despondently to the Messroom. Doyle was there, but not Murph. He'd gone off duty.

"Well get 'im back. The Old Man wants him."

Bodie's dispirited mood confused Doyle. He knew how much Bodie had been looking forward to this assignment. He didn't kick up a fuss about being a driver for once.

"What's up?"

"How the hell should I know? I'm only the bloody chauffeur."

Doyle pushed a cup of tea Bodie's way, but his partner got up from the table and stared moodily out of the window. Doyle made a quick call to Reception to retrieve their colleague and wandered over to his mate. He didn't need to say anything. The question hung in the air. Bodie sighed, then told Doyle what little he knew.

"So the Old Man's up to something."

"Why doesn't he let us in?"

"Perhaps he hasn't got all the details yet," Doyle suggested diplomatically.

He didn't expect Bodie to be won over, and he wasn't. There wasn't much more Doyle could say. They'd have to wait till Father was ready to pronounce.

Bodie had expected their next assignment to be Walters-related, but the trio were sent off on an urgent assignment to Buckinghamshire. Murph was assigned to chat to a Mr Singh at a car dealership, while Bodie and Doyle sniffed around the town. The Cow had sent them off with an enigmatic: "It always pays to have a Plan B". What the hell was that meant to mean?

Bodie's mood didn't lighten even when Doyle paid for lunch and beer. There was a canal running through the town but Doyle didn't like to point it out as he wanted to divert Bodie's attention from all things Harry Walters. However, after a strained lunch, they did find themselves wandering in that general direction. They spotted Murph in conversation with one of the bargees. They wandered along the towpath and caught up with their colleague. Murph shook hands with the man, conversation ended, and turned towards his friends. They ambled back towards the pub.

"Find out anything?" enquired Murph.

"Don't know what we're bloody looking for!" Bodie snarled.

Doyle sighed but remained quiet. A flash of light in the shrubbery along the path alerted his attention.

"Look out!" Doyle yelled, shoving his colleagues out of the way.

There was a splash as Doyle and Murphy flattened themselves into the dirt as a fusillade of bullets flew over their heads. They rolled in tandem towards the shrubbery, that being the only cover, guns drawn. There was a rustle of vegetation, and the men got to their knees and pushed through. They caught sight of a backside disappearing. The agents veered off in hot pursuit. The man turned.

"Duck!" Doyle yelled to Murph who was right behind him and may not have seen the danger.

The agent didn't need telling twice as a bullet just missed his left shoulder. Doyle assumed his colleague was now out of the line of fire as he veered to the left, firing as he did so. Doyle didn't miss. The man fell heavily and Doyle was on him in a moment, Murphy at his heels. Doyle turned the man over. He was unconscious but still alive. Agents didn't kill unless there was no choice.

"Recognise him?"

Murphy shook his head, then had a thought. "Where the hell's Bodie?"

In all the excitement, the pair had completely forgotten him.

"Stay here," Doyle ordered, already taking off, back the way they'd come.

It was easy to follow the route they had blundered through and Doyle quickly regained the tow path. He was in time to see Bodie dragging himself out of the canal, helped by a barge pole from one of the boat owners. He noticed movement to his right and saw his partner emerge from the trees, He gave Doyle a thunderous look. Doyle tried not to laugh, but couldn't contain himself. He was still giggling uncontrollably when Murph appeared on the scene to see what had happened to Bodie. He assessed the situation immediately. Doyle was no longer in danger of a sniper, but from his own colleague.

"You did that on purpose, you bastard!" Bodie yelled, pulling more pond weed from his hair.

A few bargees poked their heads out of wheelhouses, and then decided not to get involved. Doyle managed to get himself together enough to apologise.

"It was a snap reaction, honest!" Doyle explained, raising his palms in 'surrender'. But the grin still splitting his face didn't go down well.

"We need to get a doctor," Murph suggested diplomatically, trying to get the agents to refocus on the case.

"A doctor?" snarled Bodie, "I haven't even begun yet!"

He made a lunge for his partner, who side-stepped. Murphy grabbed him by the waist.

"Look you two, settle this some other time. We have an injured man in there," Murphy pointed into the copse.

Bodie's jaw rolled like a ship in a storm, still glaring at his partner. But Murph was right: focus, prioritise.

"What's going off?" he queried reluctantly.

"I bagged our sniper," Doyle replied, getting serious.

They followed him into the undergrowth. Bodie went ahead to see if there was a road at the other side of the spinney. There was, so they carried their casualty to the side of the road while they waited for an ambulance. Wanting to divert his friend from his previous murderous intent, Doyle asked Murph how he'd been getting on with his enquiries. The ambulance, though, arrived very quickly and any chat would have to wait. Once they'd surrendered their casualty at the hospital they repaired to the canteen there.

Murph got the teas in (Bodie was still shivering and dripping wet) and told his tale. He'd found Mr Singh without any problem. It seemed that a certain Harry Walters owed him money for the Roller he'd been driving. Harry had been paying it off in instalments, but had missed the last two payments. It amounted to a lot of outstanding debt. He'd told Mr Singh that he had a temporary cash-flow problem but would pay soon. Mr Singh didn't trust Harry Walter's word and contacted the bailiffs. They told Mr Singh that they would add the Roller to the list of other outstanding debts. It seemed that Harry Walters owed money all over town. It was just the sort of information that Cowley would enjoy hearing. Even Bodie was looking brighter.

"Has he got any barges around here?" Doyle asked after a few moment's contemplation. It wasn't a question he would have raised even an hour ago, but Bodie was now looking like a terrier after a rat.

Murph shrugged and so the trio set off to find out. They wanted to leave Bodie behind, hugging the radiator and finding out about their casualty, but there was no way he was going to be denied again. Their enquiries took them the rest of the afternoon, Harry wasn't making things easy for them. The bailiffs were particularly helpful and equally eager to know where Harry Walters was keeping any assets.

Bodie bought some casuals at the local market to make himself more comfortable and was in a much better frame of mind. He hadn't quite forgiven or forgotten, but Doyle could wait. They traced a small pleasure craft to a mooring some distance down the canal in Walters' name. That too was on the bailiff's list of monies outstanding. The trio were beginning to wonder if Harry paid for anything with ready money or if it was all 'on tick'. They made short work of the locked wheelhouse door and swarmed all over the craft. What they found would make Father's heart sing. Stuffed under floors and behind pipes was a wealth of information - files detailing transactions, names, addresses. Yes, even the silver bullion deal with the Embassy was detailed there. This would keep Cowley in clover for some time. The trio guessed that Harry would have some kind of defence force in place around his precious barge. Doyle had taken care of one sniper, but they were still on alert as they left the boat for any other goons in the vicinity. Bodie ensured that he kept well away from the water's edge in case Doyle had another of his "snap reactions" and purred all the way home. Some days were good; other days were even better.


End file.
